COCONUT SWEET WITH JAGGERY

This is the last of my recipes for 2016 and I thought I’d end the year on a sweet note with a recipe that was a part of my childhood.

As a kid, I used to eat these coconut sweets made with jaggery, available in little shops that sold anything from needles to rice. Usually these sweets were displayed in glass jars and looked quite revolting with a few flies hovering around them…but ah! The taste!! The taste is something I cannot forget even today. I used to buy them with 10 or 20 paisa coins and savor them bit by bit. I have added the coins in the pictures, now no longer in circulation. It brings back memories of those days where simple pleasures like this, so inexpensive, was all it took to be happy.

Ingredients:

100 gm jaggery OR
50 gm jaggery and half a cup of jaggery powder (this is the combination I used.)
½ cup of water.
2 cups fresh coconut ground a mixer/processor so that it comes out a fine paste.

Method:

In a non stick pan, add water and add the jaggery in the pan till it melts completely and thickens slightly.

Add the coconut paste and stir.

and stir..and stir..and stir…and stir…:) that’s all there is to the recipe. Just stir till all water evaporates and the mixture looks thick enough to make into little coconut balls with your hands. Switch off the stove when the mixture thickens and do this while it is still warm.


NOTE:

Water: I added a little bit more while melting the jaggery. Though this makes the moisture take a longer time to evaporate, I prefer it over using too little water and it turns out too thick, sticking to the pan.

Add: Raisins and nuts when stirring if you wish. Cardamom powder. Orange red food coloring for a brighter look.

Don’t forget to stir in low flame and keep it going till you get the desired consistency. Keep an eye on it at all times.

PEAS & CABBAGE CLEAR SOUP

Winter time in my city and there’s a nip in the air and one of the comfort foods to turn to in this weather is piping hot soup! I’m partial to thin, clear soups over the thick variety usually where corn flour is added. This is one of my favorite soups that has healed me through typhoid and colds and coughs - quick, healthy, comforting and so, so filling that I can skip a meal after having this. I like it best with lots of water (more than the usual mentioned in the recipe) along with the ingredients.


RECIPE:

200 gm - frozen peas.
1 cup finely chopped cabbage
4 cups - water.
Half a lemon.
One pinch - pepper powder.
1/2 tsp - vinegar. (i used chilli vinegar)
Salt to taste.

METHOD:

In a kadai/pan boil the peas and cabbage with the water. I like to add lots of water for boiling so that it is thin and the flavored water is delicious to drink.

Remove from flame and transfer to a bowl.

While it is still hot, add pepper powder, a half a spoon of vinegar and salt to taste.

Finally, squeeze in the juice of half a lemon.

Delicious hot, peas n cabbage clear soup is yours to have on a cold evening.

I have made this soup with peas and cabbage (and half a carrot) to keep it simple, but you can add chopped carrots, cauliflower, even finely chopped tender beans and broccoli to the pan and turn this into a healthy vegetable clear soup. The rest of the ingredients remain the same (pepper, vinegar, salt and lemon and that’s what gives this soup its yummy flavor.

CRISPY VERMICELLI BONDAS

When it comes to experimenting with ingredients for bajjis, pakodas and bondas, there are dozens of options available. I have tried my hand at quite a few of them …sometimes even making bajjis out of betel leaves (paan bajjis). This recipe, vermicelli bonda, was first made by mom and then I learnt it. Elaborate though it seems compared to the usual dip n fry bajjis, the end result is worth every bit of time and ingredients. With the monsoon just about to say bye and the winter all set to say hello, I felt it’s time for another round of my favorite snack – not that I need an excuse to make bajjis and bondas ;)

Ingredients for the pakoda batter:

2 cups - Besan/gram flour
1 tsp – red chilli powder
1 tsp – turmeric powder
One cup water
Salt to taste

Or you can buy any ready made brand of a bajji bonda mix.

For the aloo mash:

2 or 3 medium sized potatoes - boiled and mashed
1 pinch – Turmeric powder
1 to 2 green chillies, finely chopped (or you can add more according to preference).
1 small bunch of finely chopped coriander leaves
1 pinch chaat masala
Salt to taste


For the Chilli Chutney:

Grind a small bunch of fresh coriander leaves, mint leaves and about 10 green chillies, one cubed onion with a little water.

1 to 1.5 cups - Vermicelli
1-2 cups cold water
Oil for frying


METHOD:

Mix all the ingredients listed in the pakoda batter, adding water little by little to make a smooth batter. Keep aside.

Mash the boiled potatoes with turmeric powder, salt, and green chilli, coriander leaves and chaat masala.

Heat a little oil in a wok and fry the vermicelli till slightly golden; add water to it and cook till tender.

Shift to a colander to drain out the water and run cold water over it to prevent it from sticking to each other.

In a mixing bowl, mix the chilli chutney, cooked vermicelli, and potato mash well.

Heat oil for frying.

Take a little and make small balls with your hand.

Dip the vermicelli balls into the besan batter until well coated and drop these into the hot oil.

Fry till crisp and golden brown.

Serve hot with tomato sauce.

Note:

1.Salt is to taste, so be careful with it; too much of it will ruin the snack. Ensure you do a taste test.
2.You may skip the onion in the chilli chutney if you wish.
3.You may skip the chilli chutney altogether if you want and use just the aloo and vermicelli combo it’ll taste good, but the chutney gives the bondas an unique flavor.

CHOCOLATE PLUS

There is a saying that for some there is therapy and for the rest of us, there’s chocolate and what’s more it is cheaper than therapy and doesn’t need an appointment!!

Truer words were never spoken at least where my experiences are concerned. Not a single time has chocolate let me down then I turned to it as my “go to” food.

While my consumption has reduced (just a teeny bit), for me it’s a piece of heaven wrapped in crinkly sparkly paper and I so love chocolate jokes:

Teacher: If you had 10 chocolates and someone asks for two, how many do you have left?

Me : 10

Teacher: Okay what if someone forcibly takes two of the chocolates, how many would you have left then.

Me: 10 and a dead body!;)

This is one of my earliest recipes I learnt before I ventured into cooking big time was how to make chocolate. I am including it here along with some variations

Ingredients:

1 cup cocoa powder (unsweetened)

2 cups milk powder

1 cup sugar (preferably powdered sugar)

Butter – 50 grams (unsalted only)

Ingredients mentioned in variations: dates, nuts, fruit etc.


Method:

1. In a bowl, mix the cocoa powder and milk powder well.

2. Turn on the stove and melt sugar along with 1.5 cups of water. Add a bit more if it is too thick but do not overdo it.

3. Stir it continuously till it comes to one thread consistency.

4. Add the butter and allow it to melt.

5. Switch off the stove as soon as the butter has melted and it looks frothy.

6. Now add the cocoa-milk powder mixture to this – ONE SPOON AT A TIME stirring continuously till you get the thickness you desire.

7. Step # 5 and 6 is most important. If you end up adding the cocoa – milk powder by the cupful or all at once, it becomes powdery and hard and ruins it completely. You need to add the mixture bit by bit so it looks all shiny and buttery.Do not forget to switch off the stove after the butter has melted.

8. At this stage, it’ll look like chocolate sauce. Transfer it into a bowl and you can use it as a dip mentioned in variations below.

9. OR wait till it cools down completely and you can roll them into chocolate balls. You can also pour the sauce in moulds and allow it to set for a couple of hours

10. Note: If the sauce is too thin even after transferring it to the bowl and it is not really up to rolling consistency, add some more cocoa-milk powder one spoon at a time and stir it well till you get the desired consistency in the same bowl. This has to be done while it is still hot. There is no need to heat this up.

11. Tip: Do wash the vessels immediately as the chocolate tends to harden over time and it would be tough to scrub it off. I use a non stick pan for this recipe.

Variations: now this is the fun part!;)

1. Dip seedless dates in the chocolate mixture until fully coated.

2. Dip strawberries or bananas. You may need to use toothpicks for this.

3. Add raisins and cashews. You can also add bits of roasted almonds.

4. Roll the chocolate balls in desiccated coconut powder.

5. Spread the sauce on sponge cake slices.

Description of pictures above:

I have added raisins and cashews to the mixture.

While still in the sauce stage, I dipped seedless dates till completely coated with chocolate as you can see above.

After the sauce had cooled and hardened slightly (though it still had to cool further), I rolled them into shiny chocolate rounds.

It took all my will power to wait to eat till I clicked the photographs;)

Forget love! I’d rather fall in chocolate;)

BHELPURI SANDWICH

I used to contribute recipes to a popular cooking website a few years ago. The website once asked its viewers to contribute a kid friendly recipe that is easy to prepare and different and this was my contribution. I don’t make this very often, but when I do, I skip lunch for it is a meal in itself. Very tasty and filling!


BHELPURI SANDWICH

For the Bhel:

100 gms plain puffed rice.
One medium onion – finely chopped
One medium tomato – finely chopped
One medium potato – boiled and chopped.
Mint chutney. (see recipe below).
Sweet chutney (see recipe below)
Salt to taste.
Lemon juice to taste.
Sev/mixture for garnishing – a spoonful.
A few sprigs of cilantro/coriander leaves – finely chopped.

For the mint chutney:

1 bunch mint leaves
1 bunch coriander leaves.
1-2 green chillies. (or see the spicy green chutney recipe for the month of July 2016 in this blog)

For sweet chutney:

Combine a handful of seedless dates (10-12) and a small marble sized ball of tamarind and grind to a fine paste with a little water.

Sandwich bread slices.

METHOD:

1.To prepare mint chutney, grind mint leaves, coriander leaves and green chillies to fine paste by adding a little water and salt to taste and grinding it in a mixer.

2.Keep some mint chutney aside for layering the bread slices.

3.Mix all the vegetables – chopped onion, tomato, potato and puffed rice in a bowl.

4.Add a spoonful of mint chutney, sweet chutney, lemon juice, and salt to taste and give it all a good mix.

5.Add sev and cilantro leaves and mix once more.

6.To prepare the sandwich, take one bread slice, spread a spoonful of mint chutney and a spoonful of sweet chutney over it.

7.Add the bhel on top of the chutney. You may add extra sev if you wish.

8.Place another slice of bread on top of the bhel mixture.

9.Tasty bhelpuri sandwich is ready.

10.*You may add grated carrot if you wish to the bhel mixture.

SPICY GREEN CHUTNEY

This recipe has gone international! I am not kidding when I say that. It is not as if world renowned hotels and chefs use it, but more in terms of talking about it whenever the topic of childhood memories comes up.

This recipe was actually taught to me by my mother. When I was younger, my brother and I used to love raw mangoes and cucumbers smothered with the spicy green chutney sold by vendors in carts around the city. Mom replicated it with a touch of her own. There were times she used 40 (yes 40!!) green chillies and it was enough to make one go through the roof! But nothing stopped us from liberally spreading it on tomatoes, cucumbers and mangoes and relishing every bit of it.

I introduced it to my friends and neighbors (some who were children that time). To say that they loved it is an understatement. Now they are all grown up married with kids of their own and settled abroad. Yet on their rare visits to India and my neighborhood, the first thing that they say when we meet up is how delicious mom’s green chutney was and how they still drool when they mention it to their friends abroad when speaking about childhood.

Such is magic of the spicy green chutney which can be used to make chaat, bhel, spread it on bread to make sandwich, dip bajjis into it or eat it like we did – on raw mangoes and cucumbers and lemon squeezed over it.

Ingredients:

1 small bunch of coriander leaves – Washed and chopped

1 small bunch pudina/mint leaves – Washed and chopped

Marble sized tamarind (do not soak this)

5-6 cloves of peeled garlic cloves

1 or 2 medium sized onion cubed

1 inch piece of ginger peeled and chopped

Green chillies – 8 to 10 or depends on how spicy you want it. For the picture above I added 30 of the spicy variety.

Salt to taste

Method:

Combine all the ingredients in a mixer with very little water and grind to a smooth paste. If water is less then add it bit by bit. Chutney should not be too watery.

For salt: Do a taste test after grinding and before transferring it to a bowl/jar, then add some more per taste if you feel it is not enough and grind again.

Preferably store the chutney in a glass jar. It’ll stay fresh for up to a week.

STUFFED CHILLI BAJJIS

What’s monsoon season without Bajjis and Bondas? I can finish them in batches, good for the soul and not so good for the waistline.

For me, rainy weather + good book + Hot bajjis = Happiness. As far as bajjis go, I like them all but my favorite is chilli bajjis.

I make them just like the ones you’ll find in any regular bajji shop – street side or in small hotels, but the onion topping included here gives it its own unique mouthwatering flavor.

Ingredients

5-8 Green chillies big bajji variety.

One or two medium sized finely chopped onions.

Chaat masala 1 lemon.

Oil for frying.

For the bajji batter-

Two cups of besan/Gram flour.

1 tsp chilli powder. 1 tsp Turmeric powder.

A pinch of sodium bicarbonate.

One or two cups water.

Salt to taste. You may also use any of the readymade bajji/bonda mixes available in most supermarkets.

METHOD

Mix the chopped onions, chaat masala with lime and salt and keep aside.

Mix all the ingredients of the bajji batter along with water to make a fine paste. Ideally, you need to add water little by little to ensure that the batter does not become too watery or remain too thick.

Slit the green chillies in half (this means you get two bajjis for each chilli). Heat the oil for frying.

Dip the green chillies in the batter and fry in the oil. Ensure that the bajji is well coated with the batter.

Fry till golden brown.

Once they are all done, take them out and arrange them on a flat plate. You may want to drain the excess oil on to a paper towel.

Wait for them to become warm. Then using a knife, slit the prepared chilli bajjis.

Stuff each of the bajjis with the chopped onion mixture.

You may even add finely chopped coriander leaves to the mixture if desired.

Serve immediately as the lime and onions may make the bajjis soggy and they may lose their fresh, crispy taste.

SUN DRIED CURD CHILLIES

Visit any Andhra restaurant in the city and you’ll find these fried curd chillies displayed in a bowl on the table, to be eaten with every meal. I just love its crunchy, spicy flavor. It usually goes well with curd rice, but it can be eaten just as it is or with rice and sambar too. Depending on the variety of chillies used, the spice quotient differs.

Making this, however, is a process that has taught me a lot of lessons

Patience: In this age of doing everything in the blink of an eye, this totally tests your patience. Every single chilly has be washed, wiped carefully so it doesn’t turn soggy or spoilt and each one of them has to be slit carefully. And the days it takes for it to turn out right to be able to store and fry.

Responsibility: Each day take it out at 8 a.m. ensuring it is kept in the sun in a safe dry place so that no insects get into it, and take it back at 3.30 p.m. keep mixing it. I am responsible to see this through every single day.

The role of nature in food: Especially the sun. It’s got to be sizzling hot for it to turn out really crispy and speed up the process. If god is bored and looking for some fun and sends some rain during this process, tough luck!

The comfort of a ritual: Take it out, bring it in, mix, take it out bring it in, mix, take it out bring it in, mix… day in and day out…knowing that it’s a process, and there is no magic wand to make it ready immediately and yet being at peace with it.

The sense of accomplishment: Ok. It is just a recipe. I didn’t win a Nobel prize but boy! When the process is over and the chillies are fried and eaten with lunch or dinner, there is a feeling of fulfillment that is different when compared to cooking with instant / ready made items.

Here’s the recipe:


Ingredients:

Half kg or quarter kg green chillies.
2 liter curd.
5-6 tsp of salt or to taste.

1. This is a great recipe to make separately or to use up lots of leftover curd during summer season.

2. Buy green chillies that are slightly bigger as each one needs to be slit.

3. Wipe the chillies on a dry towel. If you are washing the chillies, it has be done the previous night and air dried.

4. Slit each chilly with a knife from the stem to the end. Keep the stem intact, so it looks like one chilly split in the middle.

5. In a large bowl, add salt to taste to the curds and drop the chillies into them.
Mix thoroughly till each chilly is well coated with salt and curd.

6. You may do a slight taste test to see if there is enough salt. Do not overdo the salt. In case you feel you have added too much salt, then you may balance it out by adding more curd, but this can be done only at this stage.

7. Leave this mixture overnight.

8. Next day, Take the chillies out and spread them on a plate.

9. Keep the curd in which the chillies have been mixed in into a bowl. These will reduce over the days.

10. Spread only the chillies out in a plate and dry them in the sun. (Preferably afternoons when it is really hot).

11. Leave them for a couple of hours. When taken indoors, mix them again in the curd that the chillies were mixed in the previous day. Again do not overdo the curds, add just enough to coat the chillies for a day or two.

12. Dry it in the sun every single day for the next few days till it is thoroughly dried and crisped. This may take about four to five days to a week, depending on how well it dries and the weather.

13. Once thoroughly dried as in there is no wet curd residue on the chillies, you may store them in air tight containers.

14. Heat a little oil – a table spoon or so in a wok, fry 5-6 (or more if you like) chillies in oil anytime you want a delicious crunchy accompaniment with curd rice, sambar rice etc.

Note: Do not add water or any extra curd once you start the drying process. Use the same curd the chillies have been mixed in the previous day if there is any leftover. If the curd has dried up easily and the chillies are well coated, then leave the chillies as they are and continue placing them in the sun everyday.

The pictures above are in 3 stages when I first started and mixed them into the curd (note the chillies are still green), stage two the drying process and stage three when it was fried, ready to be eaten….turned out to be yumlicious!:)

Elaborate though the process is, it is well worth the effort!

UDHIN BONDAS & CURD BONDAS

Sigh! I could have these every day and through it does involve a lot of deep frying, it is well worth the effort. I call them bondas because of the shape though the ingredients are the same as udhin vadas and curd vadas that you can find in any south Indian restaurant.

I usually make these deep fried bondas and as a variation, turn them into curd bondas (see pics above). Recipes for both included here.

The plain bondas can be enjoyed on their own. They are usually served with coconut chutney. I eat them with homemade mango pickle which is a weird combination but tastes awesome!!

Both varieties of bondas are delicious, sinful and fattening but what the heck! You live only once! ;)

UDHIN BONDAS

Ingredients:

2 cups of urad dal, 1 spoon of channa dal and 1 spoon of plain rice, all to be soaked in water for about 3 hours.

Half a bunch of finely chopped coriander leaves.

10-12 green chillies chopped to bits. I use more and the local variety of chillies as I love the bondas being spicy. However, you may reduce/increase it as per spice preference.

2 tsp pepper corns.

Oil for frying.

Salt to taste.

METHOD:

1. Grind the soaked urad dal in a grinder with as little water as possible. This step is important. You may add water, very little of it if you feel the ground batter is far too thick, but remember the idea is to shape them into rounds with your hands, which can happen only if there is less water.

2. Transfer the batter onto a mixing bowl. Add finely chopped coriander leaves and green chillies. I usually use the local coriander and green chillies which gives out a fresh smell.

3. Grind the pepper corns coarsely and add to the mixture.

4. Add salt to taste. You may want to do a taste test for this and add them step by step. Should you add too much salt by mistake, you can balance it out by adding a spoonful or so of rice powder to the mixture.

5. Give it all a good mix and let it sit for 5 minutes.

6. Heat oil in a wok for frying.

7. Take a little batter in your palms and drop them into the hot oil. Keep turning them till they are fried evenly to a crisp, golden brown on all sides.

8. Remove and transfer it to a tissue paper to drain out the excess oil. Serve hot.

CURD BONDAS:A yummy variation of the above.

Ingredients:

5-6 Udhin bondas prepared as described above.

Half liter fresh curd

Salt

2 pinches of red chilli powder.

A pinch of pepper powder.

Chaat masala to taste.

Finely chopped coriander leaves.

METHOD:

1. Prepare bondas as described above. Allow them to cool a bit.

2. Soak the bondas in water for about 5 minutes, not too long as they can get real soggy. Drain them lightly on a tissue paper, taking care that they don’t come apart.

3. In a bowl, add fresh curd and salt to taste, red chilli powder, pepper powder and mix well.

4. Gently arrange the bondas in the curd bowl, spooning some curd over the bondas but not drowning them in curd.

5. Add chaat masala and garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves. Serve immediately.

PEAS AND BABY CORN CURRY

I am always on the lookout for good gravies that are tasty and flexible. I have tried different bases for gravies - tomato based, onion, cashew nut paste, peanut paste, and coconut based gravies. Of the lot, I absolutely love this one. It’s a green chutney based gravy that goes best with ghee rice or steamed rice.

I got this recipe while attending a food festival here in the city. The demonstration for that was the same gravy, using chicken as its main ingredient. Since I am a vegetarian, I have substituted chicken with peas and baby corn and also cut short the process a bit to make it easier. However, there really is no limit on the vegetables- you can use this same gravy and add boiled potatoes, cauliflower, paneer, baby corn, peas and even okra if you wish. Best bets are peas, cauliflower, baby corn and paneer in combinations.

Ingredients:

For the masala paste.

One small bunch coriander leaves
One small piece ginger
5-6 garlic cloves
2 medium tomatoes
2 medium sized onions
1 piece cinnamon stick
2-4 cloves.
Green chillies – I add about 10 to the masala paste and one or two more for the curry, but it is up to you. If you don’t like it too spicy, restrict it to about 3 or 4 for grinding and one or two for the curry.

FOR THE CURRY:

Half cup fresh green peas boiled.
6-8 baby corns. You can cut each baby corn in half and further thinly slice them or cut them in rings.
Fresh methi/fenugreek leaves (optional)
½ tsp red chilli powder
A pinch of turmeric powder.
One cup coconut milk – you can get this in any grocery store.
Oil or Ghee for frying.
Salt to taste.
Few sprigs of chopped coriander leaves for garnishing.

Method:

Make a paste of coriander leaves, ginger, garlic, one onion, two tomatoes, green chillies, cinnamon and cloves. Keep aside.

Heat 2 tsp oil in a pan and lightly fry the baby corn for few minutes. Do not overcook. It should be light brown at the sides. You may par boil them if you wish so that the raw taste of baby corn goes and yet retain the crunch.

Heat oil or ghee in a pan. Chop the remaining onion and add it to the ghee. Add one or two slit green chillies and fry lightly till onion turns translucent. Do not overcook the onions.

At this stage, you can add a handful of freshly chopped methi leaves if you wish or skip this step.

Add the vegetables – boiled peas and baby corn. You may also add any other vegetable of your choice paneer or cauliflower.

Fry for two minutes.

Add the green masala paste.

Mix in well till all the vegetables are evenly coated with the green chutney.

Add coconut milk, red chilly powder, a pinch of turmeric powder, salt to taste.

Allow it to simmer in the coconut milk till all the ingredients are blended well. Stir well so the curry does not stick to the pan. This should take about five to eight minutes.

Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot with steamed rice or ghee rice.

Everything about this is so versatile. Skip the cinnamon and cloves, add a bunch of fresh pudina/mint leaves and you can use the spicy green chutney on fresh tender cucumbers or make paneer mint chutney. Add less of the coconut milk and make it more like a dry curry. This chutney can be stored in a glass jar in the fridge for about a week and reuse whenever you wish.
Whatever the options you use, the smell and taste of this dish is heavenly!!

ALOO / POTATO BONDAS

Usually the monsoon sets off cravings for something deep fried, hot and spicy and one can find various outlets here in namma Bengaluru preparing bajjis and bondas in full swing and enough people to buy them too. Me? I lean towards bajjis and bondas anytime of the year.

The picture above was taken around the same month last year (2015) , when I cooked about 200 Aloo bondas for a school for the visually challenged near my place. I was exhausted by the end of it, but thoroughly enjoyed every single step of the process.

This happens to be one of my favorite recipes and received with many exclamations of mmmm...’s (in a good way:) after people take the first bite. I am happy to say that when I prepare a big batch and take them for a group of friends/colleagues, I always come home with an empty box!!:)

Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients:

5-6 medium sized potatoes
½ tsp red chilli powder
½ tsp turmeric powder
5 to 6 finely chopped green chillies
½ tsp chaat masala.
A few chopped coriander leaves.
Salt to taste
Oil for frying.

Bonda Batter mix:

Two cups of besan/Gram flour.
1 tsp chilli powder.
1 tsp Turmeric powder.
A pinch of sodium bicarbonate.
One or two cups water.
Salt to taste.

You may also use any of the readymade bajji/bonda mixes available in most supermarkets which I usually do.

1. For the bonda batter, mix all the ingredients of the bonda batter along with water to make a fine paste. Ideally, you need to add water little by little to ensure that the batter does not become too watery or remain too thick. It should be just right to coat the potato balls. This applies even if you are using the readymade bajji bonda mix.

2. Boil, peel and mash the potatoes well. Make sure that there are no lumps.

3. Add all the other ingredients, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, green chillies, finely chopped coriander leaves, chaat masala and salt to taste to the mashed potatoes and mix well.

4. Scoop up a bit of mashed potatoes and roll them into a ball with your palms. Make many such potato balls.

5. Heat oil in a wok. This is a deep fried snack so ensure that there is enough oil and it is heated well.

6. Dip the potato balls into the batter, taking care not to break them. The besan batter should coat the entire potato ball.

7. Gently let them into the oil and deep fry till golden brown. Repeat the process.

8. Serve hot with mint chutney.

Note: Salt and green chillies are to taste. You can make them as spicy or as bland as you wish.

2016 - THE FOODFULL YEAR - TOMATO CHAAT

I have explored a lot of hobbies and interests over the years and would probably need a separate blog to describe them all. These ranges from teaching to training to theatre to listening and playing music to writing to astrology to collecting certificates in various subjects to art and crafts….the list goes on.

A lot of things interest me. But if there is one thing that I am happiest doing, one thing that calms me down, one thing I am most mindful of, one thing that keeps me grounded, one thing that makes me feel good at the end of it all, I have to narrow it down to working with FOOD!

Food makes me feel great, whether it is surfing the net for recipes (which I do regularly) or posting my recipes on certain websites, or going out to eat , but cooking my own food, especially snacks, is what I enjoy doing the most.

When I start the process of cooking, the whole act of cutting and chopping and grinding, the mix of vegetables and spices, the colors, the textures, and then at the end of it all, tasting it, putting the first spoonful into my mouth and savoring it – every step of the way all have an positive impact on me and my senses.

When I count my blessings, I count my kitchen and my ability to cook as one of them and feel lucky to have a spacious kitchen in which I can indulge in what cheers me up the most amongst all my other hobbies and interests.

This year, 2016, I decided to write my favorite recipes, one per month in my blog. Some are common and can be found elsewhere on the internet. Some are my own versions of popular recipes. There are lots of dishes I make. For me, these recipes for this year are not only recipes I love, but ones which I make often -very very often:) and savor.

Being a chaat-o-holic, I decided to start the year with my favorite recipe – Tomato Chaat.

This is a healthy, tasty, my version of a popular recipe and I could have it every day! So here goes:


TOMATO CHAAT:

Ingredients:

4-5 firm tomatoes.
3 boiled potatoes, mashed with a pinch or two of chaat masala and a little salt
2 medium sized onions – finely chopped.
Coriander chutney (made with a bunch of coriander, green chillies, pudina leaves and salt blend in a mixer).
Sweet Chutney (made with grinding seedless dates and tamarind with water in a mixie).
Mixture/sev/puffed rice (available in most supermarkets).
Some roasted peanuts.
1 lemon.
Chopped coriander leaves for garnishing.

Method:

1. Cut the tomatoes into thin, round slices.
2. Take a flat plate and arrange them in a layer around the plate.
3. Drop bits of mashed potatoes in each tomato.
4. Add one layer of coriander chutney.
5. Add one layer of sweet chutney.
6. Add chopped onions on each tomato slice.
7. Squeeze lime juice on the layers of tomato slices.
8. Sprinkle the sev / mixture/puffed rice around the layers of tomato slices.
9. Add the roasted peanuts.
10. Garnish finally with finely chopped coriander leaves.

Note: This has to be eaten as soon as it is prepared else it tends to get soggy and lose its flavor.